Nike doesn't "allow" WNBA scouts at its basketball camp
for high school athletes at the National Institute for
Fitness & Sport, but there were NBA scouts "aplenty,"
according to Dawn Reiss of the INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS. Nike
said that it "wants to keep girls' minds on academics and
not give them unattainable hopes." Dir of the Nike Girls
Camp Felicia Hall: "I don't want to put any misconceptions
or false pretenses into these girls' heads. In my opinion,
their next level is college. To bring in a WNBA scout says
to them that it might be different." WNBA Dir of Player
Personnel Renee Brown: "There is no reason for WNBA scouts
to be there since we do not recruit high school players. I
can evaluate them .... [in] college" (STAR-NEWS, 7/23).
FOR THE BOYS: The ten Nike Football Training Camps
throughout the U.S. are "a way for Nike to accomplish dual
missions: getting involved with entry-level football, and
-- oh, yes -- planting seeds in young minds about Nike,"
according to Bud Withers of the SEATTLE TIMES. Andy Bark,
Publisher of Student Sports, which coordinates the Seattle
camp, "shouted" at event participants recently, "The No. 1
sport-performance company in the country made this possible.
They care about you!" (SEATTLE TIMES, 7/22).
